STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Borough residents, led by Curtis Sliwa, rallied in front of the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar Wednesday evening as part of a “victory rally” following a judge’s decision to shutter the migrant shelter — despite the city appealing the court decision leaving the shelter open for the time being.
Shortly after New York Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi reached his decision earlier this week granting a preliminary injunction against the site, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration notified the court of its intention to appeal, and cited a portion of state law that prevents Ozzi’s ruling from being enforced.
The city now has 30 days to appeal, leaving the migrant shelter in place for the time being, despite Ozzi’s decision.
City officials confirmed the Villa site at the intersection of Chicago and Landis avenues as a migrant shelter in late August, and began moving people in a few days later.
Few sites around the city have seen the massive protests that Villa and the former Island Shores Senior Residence in Midland Beach have drawn by Staten Islanders who have lashed out at the mayor’s response to the migrant crisis, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.
On Wednesday, hundreds of residents showed up to an impromptu rally to hear Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and former mayoral candidate, address the ongoing migrant crisis.
“This is the good versus the evil and bad,” he said. “…There has been no transparency.”
Sliwa argued that though the court decision was a “part-time victory,” the “war could resume at any moment.”
The former mayoral candidate also gave credit to the residents of Midland Beach, who similarly held protest at a migrant shelter. “The people of Midland Beach deserve a round of applause, they were out on the streets and arrested for nothing,’’ he said.
Sliwa added that it is all about the money – not the people. “You won this battle here, but the bigger battle is in Midland Beach,’’…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply